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Elvis & Nixon (2016) review

What is there to say about Elvis & Nixon, the title
pretty much sums up the movie. This tells the real life story of the meeting
between the King of Rock'n'Roll and the President of the United States in 1970.
After becoming distressed with America's increasingly drug-obsessed,
anti-establishment, counterculture, Elvis decides he will travel to the White
House and ask to become a "Federal Agent at large". His proposed
solution to the problems blighting the country? He will go undercover,
infiltrating rock bands, revolutionary groups and the Black Panthers and try to
bust people he sees as communist sympathisers. He turns up at the White House
gates and asks to be admitted, but unfortunately is rebuffed. Handing in his
letter to the president, he waits. Nixon's advisors, hoping to improve the
president's public image with large numbers of voters, are keen to set up a
meeting. Nixon however is less than enthusiastic, seeing little or no point in
meeting with Elvis Presley.

Needless to say, Elvis eventually gets his meeting
and the two men find they get on surprisingly well.

This is a short film and really has a very simple story to
tell. What carries it are the two towering central performances, Michael
Shannon as Elvis and Kevin Spacey as Nixon. Shannon portrays Elvis as a tender,
naive individual, perhaps a little delusional, but with a genuine desire to do
good. He also has some heartfelt moments when he describes his loneliness as
such an icon, obviously finding it hard to reconcile his huge public persona
with his private life and friendships. Spacey's Nixon is almost a caricature,
and it's clear that both actors were having fun with their performances. He
captures the presidents mannerisms, his insecurities about his appearance, and
his complete lack of understanding concerning popular culture. In a sense both
of these men are cocooned in their own worlds, their behaviour conditioned by
their life experiences and current status. It has an upbeat soundtrack,
capturing the period and helping establish this as a comedy. The writing is
sharp, getting across great amounts of detail in snappy dialogue and
to-the-point scenes. A fun watch about two fascinating figures, the film really
does not attempt to be any more than that and succeeds on its own terms.

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